Two new Apple SIlicon MacBooks may enter production in the second half of 2021, as per a report by Nikkei Asia. Though the report doesn’t make it clear which MacBook models have been scheduled for manufacturing, earlier reports point it to the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro devices.
The laptops are expected to be powered by the second generation “M1X” or “M2” chips, an upgrade to the current M1 chips that replaced the Intel ones in the new MacBook models launched by Apple. Reliable tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the upcoming Silicon MacBooks are expected to launch in the third quarter of this year only.
Apple’s new devices to be powered by the M1 chip include the 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar) models along with the Mac Mini. Both MacBook Air and Pro come with the same M1 chip configuration along with up to 16GB RAM and 2TB storage.
Apple’s M1 chip features an eight-core CPU, which, the Cupertino-based tech giant claims to be the fastest CPU in the world. The M1 chip is the first personal computer chip built using 5-nanometer process technology and has 16 billion transistors with integrated graphics. Apple claims that the M1 can deliver up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster GPU performance and up to 2x longer battery time than previous-generation Macs.
The tech giant claims that with the M1 chip, the battery life can go up to 18 hours with the new MacBook Air while it can stretch up to 20 hours with the MacBook Pro. Compared to other processors, Apple has said earlier that the M1 chip draws 1/4th of power to deliver peak performance.